


These Wondrous Headphones

by Featherine_Aurora



Series: Lesbian Protagonist Tales [8]
Category: FLCL, FLCL Progressive
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Angst, Canon Rewrite, Character Development, Drama, F/F, F/M, Female Protagonist, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gay, Genderfluid Character, Lesbian Character, Male-Female Friendship, Mental Health Issues, Personal Growth, Relationship(s), Romance, Self-Acceptance, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Transgender Hibajiri Hidomi, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 22:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20217139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Featherine_Aurora/pseuds/Featherine_Aurora
Summary: Hidomi Hibajiri has not had an easy life so far. She struggles with guilt over her parents breaking up and the costs of getting a special set of headphones to help deal with some of her problems. But she, along with her parents and her friends, are doing their best to get by in a dreary world where not much of note ever seems to happen. Then a pink haired woman drives into class and declares she's their new teacher. That is the first sign of things to come and life starts to change dramatically.





	These Wondrous Headphones

Hidomi Hibajiri rubbed her eyes, still tired and bleary eyed. She felt like this more and more often as she woke up. Her mind was a hazy mess, a problem made worse by what it was trying to make sense of.

_What a weird dream._

She wasn’t sure what had caused it. It might have been having her headphones on when she went to sleep. It was possible the music had affected her sleeping mind. But it was also possibly an effect of them having slipped off her head at some point while she was asleep. They weren’t ordinary headphones, after all.

_I owe a lot to them. I still find it amazing that they worked. But what even was that dream?_

She could still recall traces of it, even as the bizarre images seemed to fade from her mind. There were massive irons. Something happened to her, changing her. Then she attacked the irons.

_Why do I keep getting dreams like that recently?_

She crawled out of bed and got dressed for school. She then put her headphones on. Ideally, she needed to wear them as much time as was possible. They were designed to be extremely tough. Supposedly, they were impact resist and stuff like water exposure wouldn’t be concerns at all. She had been initially doubted this, but they really did seem to be as tough as the company claimed. They also worked very well in regards to their special function, even if some of the side effects were uncomfortable. For example, at times, she had really bad headaches. But it was still worth it. After dressing, she went to the bathroom to wash and sort herself out. Then, downstairs for her breakfast. It was on the kitchen side. Hidomi walked past her Mum, picked it up and walked to the table.

Then the blade of a knife appeared in front of her face. Hidomi was forced to stop by that, which was the intent of the person wielding it.  
  
“So, you are aware that I’m here”. Mum was obviously annoyed and a bit hurt by being ignored, but she followed that up with a cheery “Good Morning, Hidomi”.

She sighed. Maybe she was being rude, but that was not safe at all.

“Morning, mum”.

“I know you’re going through a lot as a teen, but I’m standing right here. Don’t ignore me like that”.

“Sorry".

They then sat down at the table together. Mum had a lot to do in preparation for opening up the Cafe she ran, but she would try to eat breakfast with Hidomi. Mum was the one who did most of the talking. Even with family, Hidomi wasn’t much of a talker or that expressive. But her Mum was used to that and could interpret Hidomi’s minimal reactions. The topic of today though was one Hidomi never had much to say about, the running of the Cafe. Her Mum had a lot to say though, mainly complaining about various problems. For example, one of the people she purchased supplies from was had screwed up a delivery. There were problems with the economy that continued ti mess with business. Hidomi inwardly smiled. Yes, there were problems. But, despite everything, her Mum was handling everything well. She been doing her best at running the Cafe, keeping it afloat, and looking after Hidomi since... Dad left.

For a moment, Hidomi felt almost nauseous, the guilt she felt seeming to try to crush her breakfast out of her.

_He did leave because of me._

What had caused that was a discovery and the consequences from that. To be precise, her two parents had been told by Hidomi they had a daughter instead of a son. Both had been understanding. But there was still the big question, what next? What to do in regards to helping their daughter? They were hardly rolling in money and the government would, if if did help her transition, have their child considered legally mentally unwell, something that would hurt her future. It seemed their situation was hopeless.

The answer had come from a company no one seemed to know anything about, Medical Mechanica. They had offered a set of headphones that would supposedly help control her development during puberty. They also offered to help with changing her documentation. It was bizarre, the idea that a set of headphones could help. But the information the company provided seemed to support the idea that they would. Plus, what other options did they really have? For Dad, it was just too shady. He argued with Mum more and more and more. There was no chance of agreement. Eventually, they decided to just spit up.

As she thought about that, Hidomi felt her eyes start to water. Then she suddenly felt her Mum’s arms wrap around her.

_Wait, when did she move there?_

“I’m going to keep saying this again and again. Your father going away was his choice. He decided it would be best for him and us. You did nothing wrong. You don’t need to blame yourself or hold yourself responsible for what happened”.

“I’m fine”.

“You were just staring at your breakfast for a minute. I managed to get up and walk right by you without you noticing. Besides, I know when you’re sad and I know when you’re thinking like that”.

“Sorry”.

“You don’t need to apologise. I’ve moved on and so has he. We’re both happy for you, even if we don’t agree on some things in regards to getting there. But you’re there and that is wonderful, dear”. Mum let go of her. . She then shifted the topic. “I wonder if we should have the extra spicy beef curry as the special today”.

“Who even buys that?”

“You said you liked it”.

She did like it. But Hidomi still thought it was a bit too spicy for most people.

Her Mum continued talking while Hidomi finished her breakfast. She then put her plate in the sink. She turned around and was greeted by a surprise kiss on the cheek.

“Mum!”

“Time to go and do your best at school. You’d better study hard!”.

As Hidomi had become more emotionally distant that she’d already been, her Mum seemed to take pleasure in getting emotional reactions out of her. Blushing slightly, Hidomi grabbed her bag and almost dashed out of her home.

* * *

  
“Hey, Hidomi”.

“Huh?”

“See, she wasn’t listening to you all”.

She was sitting with two friends, Ko Ide and Goro Mori. She was lost in her own thoughts while they talked about whatever it was they were talking about. There was some time until the Teacher arrived for homeroom. So, they were sat together. She had known Ko for a few years now. He was a pretty good friend. Goro on the other hand was someone she spent time with purely because he was Ko’s friend.

“Sorry, Ko, I’m just a bit distracted”.

Ko had been a bit concerned by the degree she seemed to drift away mentally. He’d told her such a number of times now. So it was no surprise that he asked “What by?”

“Nothing I want to talk about”.

“Oh”. Ko looked a bit put off by her response. It had been the way his queries kept getting shot down. But he was persistent and oddly expectant each time that she might open up, which she didn’t. Instead, she just crushed his hopes again.

Goro smirked. “She’s just bored with you. You need to try harder if you want to win over a girl like her”.

That likely was something she wasn’t meant to hear. The headphones and her distant demeanor often encouraged people to this she was less aware of what they were saying than she actually was. As for the idea of her being won over by Ko, that was amusing to her. Like there was a chance of that. Hidomi wasn’t into him at all. Or boys in general, actually. She was interested in girls instead. Ko was supportive of that as her friend and accepted that lack of interest, unlike Goro. Well, that was unfair. The issue was less that Goro couldn’t accept that she was into girls, but that he wanted to believe that he still had a shot with her.

“I can hear you fine, Goro”.

“Oh, uhhhhh...”.

Ko took the chance to grin smugly at Goro. “Smooth move. You managed to make someone who was fundamentally never going to be interested in you even less interested”.

“Screw you, Ko”.

“Is that why you insist on wearing stuff like that? Sorry, not interested”. Ko pointed at the new skirt that Goro was wearing today.

Goro gave the same response he had always give when people mentioned his clothing choices. “It’s unisex”.

“Sure it is”. Ko “Seriously though, you know you can just say you want to wear skirts, right? If you haven’t noticed, I’m a pretty accepting guy. If you want to wear women’s...”

“It’s unisex”.

Ko facepalmed. “I don’t know what closet you’re in, but you should probably stop trying to go further in it”. He glanced at his desk. “Whatever. Let’s not do this again. Could you at least apologise to Hidomi?”.

“Sure I can”. Goro spun to face her. “Sorry”.

“It’s okay”. Hidomi withdrew into her thoughts and the two boys started talking to each other again. They kept at it until a loud noise from the corridor drew their attention to the door, everyone else doing the same. Naturally. It was a loud and distinctive noise.

_Is that the sound of a motor running? Inside the corridor?_

It stopped outside their class. Then a voice yelled “Hey, if you want someone to cover a class that quickly, this is what you get! I’m willing to do this stupid job, but I’m not walking to the classroom!”.

“You’re inside the building!”.

“Oh, quit complaining!”.

Then the door was flung open and a woman in a skirt suit walked in mumbling to herself. For a moment before she shut the door behind her, Hidomi saw a vesper scooter that was right next to the door. As the woman reached the Teacher’s desk, she pulled off the motorcycle helmet she was wearing, revealing vividly pink hair. She dumped her helmet on the table, then looked at the class. As she did that, it felt to Hidomi that the gaze of this woman lingered on her for a moment. A chill went down her spine.

_She makes me feel nervous for some reason. Why?_

This woman finishing looking over them, then put her hands on her hips and smiled.

“Good morning, class. I’m Haruko Haruhara. I’m going to be acting as your substitute teacher for a while”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please consider leaving a comment. Feedback from readers is very valuable to me.


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